A Few Weird Wishes

I have had many wishes during my life-time, even though I have not retained many of them right now, not because they have happened, but because the chances are only becoming less as I become older; as I get older, I only become weaker. I haven’t been completely against miracles in my life, but when nothing really happens you have to cease believing in positive things – miracles is just one of them, and goodness can follow the route to extinction as there is a lot of time left for the world to end. At the same time, there will be wishes.

To see the world while falling down from the sky: I have been to a number of very tall towers, and even when I was standing at the top of those tall church towers here, I used to wonder about this. The view was very good from the top. What would happen if I jump from there, and how the image will be during my fall. I have only felt that during the first person shooter games which had quite a lot of buildings, and may be this real fall will help to have a more realistic view of the same.

To go to sleep and never wake up: This still remains one of my wishes. With life having no real point, this might be the right time to have this wish. I thought about this yesterday, day before yesterday, and the day before, but nothing reall worked. Well, the nights never end, and so lets see what can happen on the days to come. After all, what happens more than the rest of things in my life is sleep. Can I at least go the other dimension like in the Insidious movies? That should also be fair.

To be adopted by aliens: When we are denied too much by the humanity, we have to look for the next species not belonging to this planet. With the basic human nature returning to evil with ease, we have to depend on the others for hope. The undead should be the first option, but as too many humans are in this planet who outnumber the undead, we have to look for the best option, which will be on another planet. So, I have been looking for a spaceship to appear for quite a long time.

To die and return from the dead: Being dead and back; I have always thought about it as a lot of fun. The other world might be something which can provide a lot of valuable experience to make us succeed in life. After all, they should have met a lot of interesting dead people who have passed or still remain in that world. We will just have to make sure that the return is made before our bodies are buried or cremated – otherwise, we will be caught in that world forever with no existence left here.

To find a city underwater: I had special love for the underwater cities, a lot more than the cities built in the air, underground or on other planets. No, not under the smaller water bodies, but under the oceans rather than anywhere else, because the chance of being taken over by the saline water is more. The wish developed early, but got further strength after playing the game Bioshock, which had an underwater city of Rapture with enough horror to bring the enjoyment – the graphics remained so good too.

To have a detailed discussion with death: I have kept this on my wishlist for quite some time, and it still remains there. I have been interested with this since I read Emily Dickinson poetry for the first time. The interest had also developed earlier with Pappan Priyappetta Pappan, a Malayalam movie which features Yama and was the first movie of the famous Siddique-Lal team. Death is not the kind of person who has many friends, and so, I think that there will be no problem in having a discussion.

***The images used in this blog post were taken by me only.

TeNy

The Lost Badminton Days

Among the best memories of life, there were always the days of the Badminton, something which I started in detail in the year 2001 with the first Badminton bat I ever had – Kamachi, a sporting season which improved further in 2002 and carried on with no real training and finding one weird way or the other to play the sport. Now, with almost no chance to play Badminton anymore, I take a look at those memories. The Badminton had somehow survived until 2014 first half for me; even now it is not dead, but is close to it.

The first season of the Badminton Days was the Kamachi season – it was a racquet that survived only to make way for the next one – Wish. 2001-2004 was rather my learning season, and it was the time when I tried my best to work on a certain style for my game, and was hoping to get at least a few smashes right (as long as I could keep getting the shuttle to the other side :D). Except for getting the drop-shots right rarely, I could only come up with some very rare surprises against those power-smashers.

You see the former racquet with a shuttle (pack is empty :P) a pole and the court too 😀

2004-2006 was my next season, finding the smashes with the new racquet, and somehow able to return some of those smashes, but still having almost no backhand. It was only during the 2006-2008 season with the next racquet Kennex that I somehow discovered that backhand shots could be played, and for that I can only thank my love for Roger Federer reaching new heights. Even as I liked him much earlier, the imitation of that classic backhand was coming to me this time, and there were the good-looking wrist bands and elbow supports to inspire 😀

2008-2011 with my next Wish racquet was my best season ever, and this was also the time of having best energy. With a ban on cricket, football and any sport which required a ball by our association, Badminton thrived at that time, and it is to be noted that there were so many people to play the game from 2001-2011, these ten years being awesome for the sport. I perfected the tennis shots during that season, and could do the tennis backhands too; and there was my tribute to Roger Federer 😀

A racquet to remember, as I would like to talk about it and those lost Badminton days 😀

2011-2015 is the time of the next racquet, the fifth in the list, the Silvers blue one which is continuing its journey even as there is no Badminton anymore, as my hope to find a place to play has failed miserably. This is my best bat so far and has lasted more than any other considering the years, but if we consider the time spent playing, this one is yet to see enough of the court. I have still managed to damage it enough already by diving on the court with it in the beginning stages itself 😀

Badminton has been so much of a fun game, and I miss it so much nowadays. I even miss that wind which helped me to get the shuttle in even after it was hit outside. Among the things that I really wish to do and bring back to my life, Badminton should come first. Our Badminton group used to be at its best at that time, and during a golden age, there would be about twelve people around just trying to get a game, and having tea or lime juice after the game was priceless. I wonder why there is not much Badminton around these days – lazy people all around!

The present Silvers racquet and the cute little kitty who wanted to join the game at night 😉

I miss playing those weird shots – those tennis backhands to the corners, the hook shot drops, the tweener drop shots, the surprise tennis forehands, the leg glance drop shots, the surprise slice drop shot, the diving sweep shot – all variety inventions which have a lot of chance not to succeed, but there is always that awesome day at the court when things work 😀 You can guess that this kind of strange nonsense shots are not going to work against a good, trained player – but there is the happiness that you get once some of these work and use the surprise elements to win against a player of your same level 😉

*All photos used in this blog post were taken on my Nokia N95 and Sony Cybershot DSC-W310.

TeNy

Knowledge: Where it Stands

How often do we hear the phrase “knowledge is power”? It has been known to us for such a long time that it comes to mind for no reason, again and again. It was with us during our childhood and stays now too. Based on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, the Malayalam TV show Ningalkum Aakaam Kodeeshwaran also makes multiple references to the importance of knowing and learning through its anchor Suresh Gopi, who has been among my favourite actors.

The show has been a good knowledge booster, and becoming what is to Malayalam like Kaun Banega Crorepati was to Hindi speakers, this show has been something worth the watch due to the knowledge content as well as the way in which Suresh Gopi was presenting the whole thing. It was all about the value of gaining knowledge, and how important it was to read and learn things, something which was reiterated. It was a great relief at a time when depressing serials and stupid reality shows were ruling the channels.

But as much as the show has money associated with it, people would surely choose money instead of knowledge on any day. It has been the thing guiding people, and in the outside world, people would choose money if it was placed with knowledge on a table. Yes, there is the need for money, but this is a greedy world – just money might not be enough in this case. There is the need for more and more.

The more saddening thing is when teachers say so. Is this what they are taught with BEd? If it is so, what is the value of education. There have been people who wanted to live forever. But if someone wants to learn at least for some more years, it becomes a hideous crime. Yes, after finishing the necessary course, go and do some job because there is the need for so much money – it should keep coming in bigger quantities.

More tha anyone else, the teachers should know the value of knowledge, and if those from the school level can’t realize it, there is no point in education. Yes, we have a flawed system. Just getting the BEd degree doesn’t make one a good teacher. Just learning things by-heart and vomitting them at the UGC NET exams can’t make a good professor. We need better things – we need good men and women, and not those who memorize or can score marks.

A flawed system of selection is what has lead to the new generation having even less hope. Already the relatives try to stop students from learning more and force them to earn money against their wishes. Then there are the teachers who think the same. When there are relatives who are teachers, it is even more horror. Why would they stop someone who wants to learn more, when lots of people hates that process? Shouldn’t those who want to learn be allowed to do so?

We have got lots of quotes about learning and power of knowledge and some people keep saying them. But does anybody care about that? Why are they often used, but why not when a real life situation comes? Why is the same applicable to only some people and not the others? Society makes us do things, but does it really know that we can do better even without crossing the limits? Is there the right to learn and acquire knowledge? Am I supposed to be money making machine or the knowledge seeker? Truth can only get further bitter.

*The television show says that one question can change one’s life, but I am left with all questions and no real change 😀 **All images used in this blog post are from the Official Facebook Page of the television show, Ningalkum Aakaam Kodeeshwaran (https://www.facebook.com/Kodeeshwaran). For further reference, the Facebook page of the 1997 National Award winner, Suresh Gopi – https://www.facebook.com/ActorSureshGopi.

TeNy